True Faith is Evident
James 2:14-26

Everyone claims to believe in something or someone; however, at times, such claim doesn’t match the actions.  Faith is defined by Webster as a strong belief or trust in someone or something.  A system of religious beliefs.
Faith, biblically speaking is: belief, trust or even confidence in someone or something.  Faith is never portrayed as a religious system in Scripture.  Jesus never said to someone, your religious system has made you well.  Nevertheless, there is a great number of people who understand faith today as a system or religion.  They would ask you: what faith do you belong to? Meaning what religious institution are you affiliated with?  When the Bible talks about someone having faith, it refers to someone trusting, believing or having confidence in someone or something.  Everyone believes or trusts; you can tell whether someone truly believes or not.
Believing or trusting is noticeable; it’s evident.  A lot of people claim to be Christian or to have faith in God; true faith in God is also tangible; it is evident.
The story of Charles Blondin. A famous French tightrope walker.
His greatest fame came in Sept.18, 1860 walking across Niagara Falls.
“Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?” (Blondin)  Yes! You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world.  We believe!
“Ok, who wants to get in the wheelbarrow?”
NO one did at that time.
If they truly believed or trusted him, they would get into the wheelbarrow.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, addresses this issue of faith in the 2^nd chapter.  (James 2:14-26)
What good is it to claim to have faith if you don’t show it?  Can such faith save you?  The answer is no, true saving faith is evident. It’s shown in action.

Faith without works (deeds) is dead.  Faith does something, it is not passive, but active.  Example of dead faith, a person who does nothing about the needs of a brother or sister

True faith is shown in what you do.  In other words, don’t tell me you believe, show me.

There are people who believe there is a God; even demons believe that. “Either there is a god or there isn’t, both possibilities are frightful, because if there is a god then we better find out who he is, and find out what he wants and do what he says. If there is no god then we are in trouble, because we are hurdling into space at 66,000 miles an hour and nobody is in charge.” Russian Astronomer.  Believing in the existence of God doesn’t save anyone; it is acting upon what he says you must do to be saved.

James named two Old Testament examples to illustrate how faith goes hand in hand with works or deeds.

Abraham was considered righteous because he acted upon his belief.  He went to sacrifice the son by whom God would give him many descendants.  Abraham trusted God and he showed it in his actions.  It is your deeds or action that show if you truly have faith or not.  True faith is always evidenced in what you do.
Rahab the prostitute was considered righteous in what she did.  She provided lodging for the Hebrew spies when they came to spy out the city of Jericho.  She believed their message to stay in their house when the Israelite army would come.  (Jos.2)  She believed and she did, in fact she did something because she believed.  Faith always does something.  It’s not idle.
Faith without actions is like a body without a spirit, dead. 

Everyone claims to believe, but sometimes, what they claim doesn’t match their actions.  This is not faith.  The proof that you trust or believe is doing something about it.  When my kids were little, I would get at the bottom of the stairs and tell them to jump that I would catch them.  Do you know what they did, they just jumped.  They trusted their daddy to catch them.
How much do you trust God?  You can sing about how much you trust God and cheer him up during worship; but the sign that you truly trust him is to jump into his loving arms; when you are not worried because he will provide; you truly trust him when you are still in the midst of adversity and confusion.  You truly trust him when you can have peace in the middle of the storm.  You truly trust him when you get into his wheelbarrow.  When times get tough for me I have to remember who the one driving wheelbarrow is.